


The Cliff Road

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Gen, Sentinel Thursday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-29
Updated: 2020-06-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:15:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24979813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: Blair hates driving the road to visit his grandmother
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	The Cliff Road

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Sentinel Thursday prompt 'fall'

The Cliff Road

by Bluewolf

Blair drove down the road at a fairly steady 35mph, dropping his speed to under 20 at the bends. He had been overtaken twice during the time he had been driving, both vehicles going at a neck-breaking (in Blair's opinion) 40-45 mph; both times he had dropped his speed to a near stop to let the other driver past. And he had met one vehicle coming towards him; it had stopped to let him pass.

Because this road was an accident waiting to happen. No; worse than that. It was a 'where is the next accident going to happen?' road. It was narrow - just wide enough for two cars to pass - with an almost sheer cliff on one side and a near vertical drop of over three hundred feet on the other. Why anyone had ever thought that carving a road into this cliff was a good idea was beyond Blair's comprehension.

Every mile or so along its length there was a slightly wider stretch where a car could stop to let a truck go past. Fortunately, however, most truckers chose not to use this route because if a car met a truck, the car driver had to back however far it was to one of those wider stretches. Blair had had to do that once, and in his opinion that was twice too often. The truckers mostly chose to use the alternative route to the small community the road served - but that was more than a hundred miles longer.

He hated this road... But it was the quickest route from Cascade to reach his grandmother, who expected regular visits from him since he learned to drive. But while he did love her... the drive to where she lived was a terrible strain on his nerves. He had always known that several cars had fallen from the road, killing their occupants. He had hoped never to witness such an accident, but nearly a year earlier he had seen a car fail to negotiate a bend as the driver tried to pass another one, and fall from the road.

He had taken the longer route on his next four visits, but he was a student, and the cost of gas to continue using the longer route dug deep into the money he had available. And the additional time taken to travel the extra distance had been very tiring. So he returned to using this shorter, but nerve-wracking, road.

Finally! He reached the end of the cliff road and relaxed on the wider, safer road he had reached, allowing his speed to creep up to 45mph.

As he drove into the parking lot of the Rainier dorms, he decided to lie down for an hour, giving himself time to relax fully.

***

Six days into the next week, as he was beginning to psych himself up for his next visit to his grandmother, he was called to the Chancellor's office. Chancellor Russell was close to retirement, and regarded the 18-year-old that Blair now was with a paternal eye.

"Sit down, Blair," he said. As Blair obeyed, Russell went on. "I'm afraid have some bad news for you. Your grandmother... I've been asked to notify you that she's died. Her funeral will be here in Cascade, and of course you'll be excused attending classes that day."

Blair drew a deep breath. He loved his grandmother, was sorry she'd died... but there was also a sense of relief that he would never have to drive that horrible cliff road again.


End file.
